Progress
by MizWrite
Summary: A compilation of short stories about the progression of Gray and Juvia's relationship as they move from friends to something much more. Written for Gruvia week. Gray x Juvia. Juvia POV and Gray POV.
1. Ambiguity

_A/N: As I said in the description, these shorts were written for Gruvia week, based on the prompts provided on tumblr. All of these shorts can be read separately, or together as one story. I tried not to step on any toes continuity-wise when writing these, so that if you wanted to take it as one whole story, you certainly could. I'll be uploading a new chapter/story each day, with the prompt as the chapter title, so please keep checking back this week. ^_^_

**Ambiguity**

Juvia picked the worst time to get ill. It was just a head cold, but Wendy, who could have cured her in an instant, was away on a job with Lucy and Natsu, and would be gone at least a week. Gray walked into the guild hall, and overheard Erza up at the bar telling Cana and Mira about Juvia's illness, and how she was instructed to stay in bed for a few days by Porlyusica, who had already come to examine her.

"What did Porlyusica say exactly?" Mira asked in concern.

"Nothing much. Mostly she just grumbled about us wasting her time. She told Juvia that she was careless to have caught a cold, and that she should just drink a lot of warm fluids and get plenty of bed rest. She should be fine in a couple of days."

"That's good to hear," Cana said, taking a sip from her barrel. "What rotten timing, though eh? With Wendy away and everything…"

The other two ladies nodded in agreement. That's when Erza caught sight of Gray.

"So, she's sick, huh? That's why it's so quiet around here," Gray said, thinking of how Juvia usually buzzed around him the second he entered a room.

Something seemed to dawn on Erza at his words, and she gave him a look that Gray did not like at all.

"Why don't you visit her?"

"What? What for?" Gray asked, his brow furrowed, unconsciously taking a few steps back. He could see Cana and Mira smirking at him. He did not like this.

"Because, Juvia isn't feeling well, and she's all alone right now. It'd be nice if she had a visitor."

"So, you visit," Gray countered. "Anyway, I thought guys weren't allowed in the girl's dorm."

"I can make an exception. And I think we all know a visit from you would make her happiest," Erza finished with a smile that thoroughly annoyed Gray.

Everyone, including Gray, knew about Juvia's feelings. It seems like everyone, however, had also forgotten the fact that he already turned her down.

"You are friends, aren't you? And a good friend would definitely go see someone when they aren't feeling well," Cana said matter-of-factly.

'Damn them,' he thought ruefully. They were trying to guilt him into this.

Mira busied herself behind the counter for a few moments, before pulling out a large, lidded cup. "Here, you can take her some soup. It's doctor's orders, after all," Mira smiled, as she handed a reluctant Gray the warm cup.

He stared from it, to the three women, all older than him. Somehow, he felt a bit bullied as they stared him down, even though they all had smiles on their faces. He made an impatient sound with his tongue. "Fine, whatever."

"Good. Juvia's room is on the 2nd floor, 3rd door on the left," Erza called after him, as he made his way outside. "And don't overexcite her!" She admonished, as Gray thought 'fat chance.'

He never did anything, in his opinion, to overexcite Juvia. The smallest things sent Juvia spiraling into exuberant behavior around him. 'She's just a weirdo,' he decided, although he meant it somewhat affectionately, picturing Juvia's smile of adoration as he headed down the road that lead to the dorm. He'd never been inside it before. If nothing else, it might be kind of fun getting a look into forbidden territory.

Before he knew it, his thoughts of what he might see inside the dorm had carried him all the way to the vast building.

"This place is way nicer than the guy's one," Gray said to himself, eyeing it's expansive exterior.

He made his way inside, and up the stairs, envying the neat and cozy interior, and thinking about their own dingy dorm. As he passed a couple of doors, he hesitated, wondering if he dared look in other rooms while he was there, but thought better of it as he imagined what the ladies might do if they knew he'd been inside their rooms without permission. Gray considered himself a pretty brave guy, but Fairy Tail women could be scary. Still, he tried a doorknob just for the hell of it. It was locked. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'it's not like I didn't try.'

He stood in front of the door that was supposed to be Juvia's. He hesitated for a moment, and then knocked softly. There was no reply. He was going to knock again, louder this time, but he decided to try the doorknob first. Surprisingly, it turned, and the door swung open.

A room full of pink decor greeted his eyes. Juvia really was a typical girl sometimes.

He looked at the big bed on the left side of the room, and there she was, fast asleep. Juvia's light-blue hair fanned out behind her on her fluffy, pink pillow, as she lay on her side, facing the wall. He stepped closer to her. It was strange to see her so peaceful. 'She's not so bad like this,' he thought to himself, as he examined her sleeping face, taking in it's soft features. A smile snuck onto his face while his eyes traveled up and down her covered form. As his eyes made their way back to the head of her bed, he caught sight of what she was clutching in her arms. His eyes narrowed. Poking out of her matching pink comforter was a black-haired, stuffed doll that looked incredibly familiar.

"No way," he said in a low voice full of incredulity. Was that suppose to be him? 'She has a _doll?'_

But, before he could fully digest this new, and disturbing information, Juvia began to stir. Her hands abandoning the Gray plush, she turned towards him, and her eyes slowly flitted open. It took Juvia a few seconds to register who was standing over her.

"Gray-sama?!" she said in shock, as she sat bolt upright. Then she seemed to remember that she was still in her dressing gown, and lay down again hurriedly, pulling her covers up to her chin.

"Wha-what is Gray-sama doing here?" she muttered to herself, clearly flustered. If Gray didn't know her better, he'd think it was her cold that was responsible.

"Did he come to have a secret rendezvous with Juvia in her bedroom?!" she gasped, now clutching at her face which was turning redder every second.

He sighed, imagining the far flung scenarios that must currently be racing through Juvia's head.

"I came to bring you some soup," he said firmly. He held the cup up to show her.

"Oh!" something in Juvia's imagination seemed to burst, as she slowly came back to herself.

"Should I put it down here?" he asked, turning to a small coffee table behind him.

"Yes, thank you, Gray-sama," she replied, sounding kind of breathless, as he placed the cup down.

"How are you feeling?" he inquired, looking back at her. She was now sitting up again, leaning against her pillows. She had also relaxed the grip on her covers, as they fell to her waist. Her face was still flushed.

"Much better today," she said, her eyes twinkling at him, and giving him a wide smile.

Gray was relieved by this news.

"Juvia is really happy Gray-sama came to visit, and he brought Juvia soup. He's so thoughtful," she said shyly, clearly thrilled by these kind gestures.

Gray half shrugged embarrassedly. "Erza thought I should," he explained in an off-hand voice, "and it was Mira who gave me the soup, and told me to bring it."

Juvia's face fell at this information.

"Oh…. Juvia will be sure to thank Erza-san and Mira-san then," she added a little dejectedly.

"Where did you get that?" he asked tentatively, pointing at the small, black-haired, stuffed toy beside her.

Juvia looked behind her. She picked up the object of scrutiny, and smiled. "Juvia made it!" she announced proudly, until she noticed Gray's displeasure with this answer.

"...Why?" he said slowly.

"Well, you see, Juvia used to make teru teru bozu dolls, to keep the rain away. They were kind of like Juvia's good luck charm. But they actually never worked, " she said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Then," her voice brightening as she went on, "Juvia met Gray-sama, and Gray-sama stopped the rain, so…" And she held the doll out to him, "it's good luck," she finished, smiling broadly, as if this made perfect sense.

Gray's eyebrow raised, clearly still not pleased. "You know that's really weird, right?" he asked flatly.

Juvia now adopted a stubborn look. "No it's not! Anyway, this is a Gray-sama that Juvia is allowed to hug as much as she likes," and she proceeded to happily do so.

Gray flushed slightly at this, and quickly seized the plush from Juvia, who looked dismayed to have her mini Gray torn from her embrace.

"Hey!" she protested, getting out of bed, in an attempt to grab it back.

"I don't want you to have this," he said in a hard voice, holding it high out of her reach.

"Give it back, Gray-sama! Juvia made it. It's hers!" she said, getting angry, and trying to reach for the doll.

But Gray ignored her, and turned away. "What else do you have in here?" he wondered aloud, his brow furrowed, as he took a better look around the room.

Juvia stopped trying to get the doll, and blushed, looking worried. "Wha-what does Gray-sama mean? Juvia has nothing! Stop that!" she said, as Gray headed to her dresser, and started rummaging in the draws. "That's Juvia's private property!"

Again, Gray ignored her, as he closed one drawer, and opened the next. He pulled out some lacy, purple panties, and held them up, his pupils wide in keen interest, as Juvia snatched them away from him, blushing furiously.

"Gray-sama! Juvia isn't feeling well, you know!"

"Then you should go lie back in bed," he said distractedly, as he closed the underwear drawer, and opened the last one to find -

"Is this my shirt?" he said, pulling out a white, button-down men's shirt, and holding it up to examine it in the light from the window.

Juvia clearly sucked in a breath at this discovery, but tried to hide her distress. "N-no," she said, her attempt at nonchalance failing miserably.

Gray tilted his head as he eyed her sternly, clearly not believing a word she said. "I'm taking this back," he said, shutting the drawer.

"No Gray-sama is not!" and she pulled at the shirt as Gray headed for the door

Gray's grip, however, was unyielding.

"It's mine. You took it without permission," he said, yanking it away from her, a bit amused at how rowdy she was getting.

"Gray-sama didn't want it. He just threw it away!" Juvia argued. "Gray-sama didn't even know it was missing, so -"

"You don't _need _these things," he said as he exited her room. "Don't forget to drink that soup while it's still warm. Get well soon," he added, a small smirk on his face, and he shut the door, leaving a thoroughly distraught Juvia in his wake.

'So much for not overexciting her,' he thought, chuckling a bit, and looking at the items clutched in his hand.

Gray would bet anything that Juvia had gotten to work on another Gray plush the second he left the dorm, but he didn't care. He was trying to make a point. She didn't require substitutes. If she really needed him, he'd always be there for her. They were friends, after all.

As he walked back into his own dorm room, he tossed the mini Gray into the trash. As he was about to stick the shirt with the rest of his dirty laundry, he caught a whiff of something. He put the fabric closer to his face, and realized that the shirt was indeed unwashed, but other than his own salty scent, there was a feint flowery perfume mingled with it.

'Had she been wearing this?' he wondered, and unwillingly a small smile crept to his face. He lingered fondly over Juvia's scent for a moment, before throwing it onto his overflowing pile of dirty clothes, and laying back on his bed, his hands behind his head, smile still in place.

**End**

_A/N: I did not get this idea from the recent Gruvia special (hence the reason Juvia only has ONE Gray plush, and not a whole collection lol). I got this idea back when we saw Juvia with her Gray sponge (which I thought was a plushie at the time) in the chapter after the GMG where the girls were all taking a bath, and I started writing a fic that incorporated this idea last summer (that fic has since been scrapped, and this section ended up here instead (yay for recycling!)). I thought about changing this after the special was released, to add her entire collection, but to be honest, I don't think my fic Gray could deal with that amount of merchandise at this point in their relationship haha! Although, in hindsight, there is something really funny about Gray searching her room, and continuously finding Gray-related merchandise (like a twisted easter egg hunt), that he confiscates, and orders Natsu to burn bonfire-style… maybe I should have changed it. Oh well, what's done is done lol! ^-^_


	2. Nervous

_Author's Note: Ficlet/chapter 2 is another decently long one. ^^_

**Nervous**

Juvia was currently having one of the best days of her entire life. In fact, she was so happy, that she was beginning to worry that she was about to wake up, and find herself back in her dorm room, so sure that it must be a dream. A few days earlier, Master Makarov had held a blind draw to pick two people for a job. The reason he needed to do a blind draw, was because there was a huge brawl at the guild the second the job went up on the board. Attached to the job was a two million jewel reward from a wealthy client just three towns away, for what was a relatively simple request involving his daughter's birthday party. He needed a couple of wizards to entertain the guests. It was a simple, quick job with a massive payoff. Who wouldn't want it?

Juvia, personally, didn't get involved in the initial fight over the job, but she cheered Gray on as he battled it out with Natsu and the rest for it. However, once Master Makarov intervened via giant fist to break up the arguments, he decided it was fairest to randomly pick names from a hat. So, any of the mages interested were free to submit their names. Juvia signed up at once right after Gray. She didn't particularly care about the money, but the chance to go on a job alone with Gray-sama, that would be the real reward for her. Perhaps that's when her good luck started? For, not only did her dear Gray-sama's name get picked first, but hers followed right after.

Gray did seem a bit wary at first, Juvia recalled inwardly, as they set up camp on some high grass. Maybe it was her imagination, but she didn't think he looked overly pleased when her name had been called with his. But, she was definitely thrilled. And the train ride to their destination went pleasantly enough. Whatever was bothering Gray seemed to have been washed away with thoughts of how he was going to spend the reward money. He spoke animatedly to Juvia all the way about wanting to find a place of his own, since he lived at the Fairy Tail boy's dorm. Juvia listened intently, happy that Gray was so excited. Seeing him happy, made Juvia happy, too.

The party itself was fun as well. The client's daughter was a rambunctious seven-year old girl, who had many, many friends. Most of the guests were children, and they were entranced with Gray and Juvia's magic, having never seen real mages before, except when watching the Grand Magic Games on lacryma vision. The client was very satisfied to have two members of the winning team personally entertaining his daughter and her friends. He confided in them after the party that the other parents were green with envy over the entertainment. It showed his "pull" as a public figure of the town, he had explained. Gray secretly rolled his eyes at that, as Juvia tried not to laugh in front of the client.

Arrogant client aside, Juvia really enjoyed the party herself. She loved the kids genuine amazement at her water magic. Even after the job was done, she still couldn't believe the massive amount of money she was paid to play around with adorable kids, eat delicious food, and work together with Gray-sama. Together, Gray and herself created ice sculptures and water fountains, ice slides and water slides. Juvia turned her entire body out of water, while Gray took suggestions from the crowd, creating any item they could think of out of ice. They topped everything off with a skating rink Gray created on the garden lawn, that he and Juvia did some tricks on to the applause of the crowd. It was the perfect day. So, as they left the client's mansion late that night, not even the facts that they had missed the last train home, and the local inn was completely booked could dampen their spirits.

Gray had said it was a cozy night, being late spring, and they should just camp out under the stars. Juvia thought this idea very romantic indeed, and quickly agreed. They didn't bother to have dinner anywhere, as they were still bursting with party food. They were currently laying down on the grass just outside of town. It was warm enough that they didn't need a fire, and the moon was full, so light wasn't an issue at the moment. Juvia turned to her left, as her head rested on her travel pack. She could see Gray laying on his back a few feet from her, his eyes studying the heavens, a grin still on his face.

He must have noticed her staring, because he turned at that point.

Juvia blushed but didn't turn away.

"Today was great, wasn't it?" he said, almost breathlessly, still clearly riding on the high of the day.

"Yes, it was the best," Juvia agreed, her heart pounding as Gray smiled at her. Consciously, or subconsciously, she moved a little closer.

"That guy was an ass, but those kids were awesome, huh?"

Juvia laughed. "They were so excited. Juvia is glad they all seemed to have fun. Gray-sama truly amazed them with his wonderful ice-making."

Gray scratched at his head embarrassedly, his hair becoming ruffled. "You act like you did nothing."

"Juvia followed Gray-sama's lead," Juvia said honestly. "To tell the truth, Juvia doesn't have much experience with children. But, they were actually really sweet."

"No experience?" Gray laughed to himself, as Juvia inched even closer to him, squashing the grass that obstructed her vision with her hand and pack. They were now only about a foot and a half apart.

"You were a child not that long ago," Gray pointed out, his eyebrow raised. "They were so hyper. They reminded me of how things use to be back at the guild, when magic was still so new to everybody, and we were all still getting to know each other, and testing each other out. If you had seen how rowdy things were back then…" he trailed off with a fond reminiscence, turning onto his back again.

"Juvia thinks things are still pretty rowdy. But Juvia does wish she could have seen. Juvia would have loved to have grown up in Fairy Tail," she couldn't help the tiny bit of heartache that had crept into her voice at this confession. She tried to smile, but she knew it was a sad one. 'Juvia!,' her head screamed at her. 'What are you doing? You are ruining the mood!'

But Gray was so caught up in his own happiness that he didn't notice anything. He sighed contentedly into the night.

"Yeah, it was crazy but fun. Kids can be a bunch of brats, but I wouldn't mind having some someday."

Juvia sucked in a breath, her palms sweating. 'Having Gray-sama's kids?!'

"To train, you know?" he clarified calmly.

"Ah," Juvia said, clearing her head of less innocent thoughts.

"I've always wanted an apprentice. I'd teach them everything I know about ice-make. Pass on Ur's teachings," he explained, a look of pride on his face.

"Juvia thinks Gray-sama would be an excellent teacher. Anyone would be lucky to have him as their mentor," Juvia said earnestly, and she was about to inch even closer still to his location, when Gray turned to her, and she stopped in her tracks. He had a strange look on his face. Juvia was sure her heart was working double time to compensate for the thrill of excitement that passed through her body.

Gray didn't speak for years, or at least that's how it felt to Juvia, because he kept staring at her all the while. She knew she must be the shade of an overripe tomato by now, but it didn't seem to bother Gray. It almost seemed like he was studying her. She wondered if he had realized they were much closer together on the grass than when they had first lay down. Should she say something? Was he waiting for her to say something? Before she could decide what to do, he finally spoke.

"Your eyes are really beautiful."

"Eh?" Juvia blinked in shock. Gray thinks something of hers is beautiful? Was that what he had really said? Juvia hadn't been listening properly. She had been too engrossed by his appraisal of her. But, before she could reason out what Gray had actually said, for surely he didn't just pay her such a compliment, something else happened.

Gray reached over, and fingered the tassel of her fur-lined shawl, a smile of amusement on his face. He was inspecting her outfit.

"You really like being bundled up, huh?"

"Bundled? Up? Juvia is?" she said, unsure of what exactly was happening, and having trouble comprehending the things he was asking her.

"You're not cold, though, are ya?" Gray asked, still amused.

"J-Juvia rarely gets cold, or hot," Juvia stuttered, still perplexed about why they were talking about her. "Juvia just likes this style," she said honestly.

Gray "hmmmmed," considering this answer, a smile playing on his lips.

"And you really like hats," he added, looking over to where she had placed hers on the grass. At one point she had been lying right next to it, but she was several feet away from it now.

"Yes," she squeaked out, wondering why she was getting so nervous. Perhaps she was worried if she answered one of his questions wrongly, this wonderful moment would come to a crashing halt. Truthfully, Gray rarely asked her questions about herself. She never held this against him. She felt like it had very little to do with her, and more to do with not wanting to be questioned himself in turn. Gray was a very emotionally private person in Juvia's opinion, and she didn't want to pressure him to talk about himself if he didn't want to.

"They suit you," he said simply, his hand still entwined with her shawl's tassel, as he subconsciously wrapped, and unwrapped it around his fingers.

His eyes were still locked with hers, which were wide in disbelief. She felt like Gray might be staring straight through them. Why hadn't she taken her shawl off? Maybe then he would be touching elsewhere. Maybe _he_ was planning to take it off? 'No!' she reprimanded herself. She mustn't lose track of the situation.

"You grew up in an orphanage, right?"

Juvia was jarred out of her frantic imaginings with this new question. It seems the topic had shifted from her appearance.

"Yes," she confirmed, wondering angrily why she couldn't say anything more interesting.

"Did you have a lot of friends there?"

Juvia's excitement over Gray's contact with, proximity to, and sudden interest in her drained away in an instant. Her smile was almost pitying.

She saw his brow furrow, and she knew it was her expression that had brought it on. That made her simultaneously happy and sad.

"Juvia was a _rain woman_, Gray-sama. No one wanted to be around such a person. Let alone children who had no experience with magic. Many of them thought Juvia was a monster…." she trailed off, her smilie twisting ironically, before she confessed, "Juvia thought she was a monster too, to be honest. For a long time."

Gray looked thoroughly upset by this talk. He had stopped playing with her tassel.

"You're not a monster," he insisted, and his tone made it seem like he wanted to go back to that orphanage and teach all those people who had said such things a painful lesson.

Juvia smiled warmly at his distress and irritation. Sighing inwardly at having ruined the mood, she continued, while moving closer to him. Their faces were inches apart.

"Thank you, Gray-sama," she said affectionately, her eyes, now shining with unspilled tears, meeting his worried ones. "Juvia's story has a happy ending, though, you know?" she assured him, trying not to blink, in an attempt to keep the tears from falling.

"Because Juvia eventually met Gray-sama, who ended her rain, and led her to a real family, who like and accept Juvia for who she really is," Juvia ended with a smile full of gratitude.

Gray smiled back, but he still looked a bit unsure.

"It's thanks to Gray-sama that Juvia no longer has to be the rain woman. Juvia can just be Juvia."

Gray was slightly flushed, but he said rather gruffly, "I didn't do anything on purpose. Any old ice-wizard could have done the same. You didn't really need me."

"Wrong," she said bluntly, and the determined look on her face seemed to take Gray aback.

"Juvia's water magic is greatly dependent on her mood. Juvia's constant rain existed because she was very sad. If it was as simple as magic stopping the rain, then Juvia could have just done it herself. Juvia is an accomplished water mage, after all," Juvia said, some tears slipping down her face now without her consent.

"Then…" Gray started, confused.

"The rain stopped," she pressed on, pressing closer to Gray, and whispering earnestly, "because Juvia was happy to have fallen in love."

Juvia stared at him, her face flushed at the tiny distance between them, but her eyes were unwavering as she ignored the heart hammering in her chest. It had become much darker now, and there were shadows falling everywhere, including on their faces thanks to a wind that had picked up, causing the moonlight beaming down on the trees overhead to obscure Gray's expression. Even then, from what she could see, she thought he looked a bit red himself. Nothing was said for several long moments, and she wondered if she should lean in even closer, and close the distance. She was slightly light-headed at the thought. But, Gray did speak again before she could act.

"H-how did we get this close?!" he asked suddenly, stuttering a bit. "Go back to your own spot," he added, his voice higher than usual. He quickly turned away from her, so she was now facing his back.

Juvia froze. She had gone too far. She knew she had been pushing things, but she couldn't help herself. Sighing deeply, but still smiling to herself, she did as he requested, and moved back to her patch of grass. The next morning, Gray acted like nothing had happened the night before, and he flaunted his prize money in front of Natsu and the rest of the grumbling guild members when they arrived back in Magnolia. But, Juvia knew the events of the previous day were as clear in his head as they had been in hers. Or maybe everything - the fun at the party, the compliments, his interest in her, their closeness - had been entirely dreamt up by her after all. If so, she wished she could hop back into bed to experience it's conclusion, for it had truly been the most wonderful dream.

**End**

_A/N: I don't have much to say about this one. Mostly, I just wanted Juvia to talk a little about her past to Gray, and explain why, in her opinion (and mine), the rain stopped. ^_^_


	3. Change

**Change**

Fairy Tail was currently in the midst of a fierce contest. Master Makarov said he thought the guild was getting a bit too relaxed, and he wanted to get the competitive juices flowing, so he organized this event. The contest involved breaking into pairs, and collecting puzzle pieces hidden in the North Forest outside of Magnolia. Apparently. there were enough pieces for everyone, but the team that came back first with all four pieces were the winners. At each puzzle piece's location would be some type of magical barrier that they would have to overcome, before they could claim one of the pieces.

Master Makarov had assured the guild members that it was all in good fun, but everyone was gunning for the prize. The winners of the contest were to have an all-expenses paid trip to the tropical island resort of Farnesci. To Gray, that meant three days of sand, surf and fun. To Juvia, that meant a romantic weekend alone with her Gray-sama. At first, he didn't want to be her partner, but she reminded Gray of his own words of their superior teamwork together. After what seemed like a small internal struggle, he gave in, and so they were now on their way to their final puzzle piece location.

Each Fairy Tail team was provided a map, but the puzzle piece's locations weren't marked on it. Instead there were riddles that they needed to solve, in order to determine the proper coordinates. Luckily, none of the riddles proved to be that difficult for the pair. Just as they reached the cave which must house their final puzzle piece, they saw Levy and Gajeel already making their way out of it, a puzzle piece in Gajeel's hand.

"Gihihi!" he laughed as they passed each other. "I'll send you two a postcard once we get to Farnesci," he mocked, waving the piece at them.

Gray growled in annoyance, as Juvia heard Levy chastising Gajeel in the distance.

"That's it then," Gray said defeatedly, as they entered the darkened cave, "they're going to win. That was probably their last piece, too."

"Gray-sama doesn't know that for sure," Juvia said, heading towards a torch-lit pedestal at the farthest depths of the cave. "Juvia thinks Gajeel-kun and Levy-san only had three pieces in all." Although she said this to encourage Gray, she was feeling down herself. What if they _had _already gotten all the pieces? She couldn't tell exactly how many Levy had been holding, and knowing her, this contest was custom built for Levy, and her brains. Juvia won't be begrudge them if they did win, but it did make her a little sad to think her holiday alone with Gray may have just gone up in smoke.

"Maybe you're right," Gray said, sounding bit more energize, which jolted Juvia back to the issue at hand.

She nodded, smiling, and turned to the pedestal. There was a strange kind of writing on it.

"No wonder they rushed out of here. I bet this was right up Levy's alley," Gray said, examining the words himself, but looking thoroughly confused. Juvia handed over one of the puzzle pieces she had been carrying, and ran her hands over the carved words.

"This is darkness magic," Juvia said slowly.

"You recognize it?" Gray asked, amazed.

Juvia didn't say anything at first, but a frown formed on her face.

"What?" Gray asked, concerned.

"Juvia thinks this is some kind of command. But she can't remember what it means."

"Why don't we just blast it with magic? That's pretty much what we ended up having to do at all the other locations." Gray reached out his hand to hit it with an ice spell.

"Gray-sama, no!" Juvia shouted, but she was too late.

"Ice-make, hammer!" A giant ice hammer came crashing down on the pedestal. Juvia was sure it was about to be reduced to dust, but she was wrong. The ice hammer rebounded, and shattered into a million pieces. There was clearly some type of magic barrier that wouldn't let it penetrate the stone pedestal.

Juvia sighed in relief that there was no penalty for Gray's actions, and that the stone was still intact.

Gray was visibly annoyed. "Well now what? We're stuck, aren't we?" he asked in frustration.

"Gray-sama, calm down."

"We should just head back, neither of us can read this thing, and if magic doesn't work - "

"Juvia may be able to read it," she interrupted him.

Gray's eyes widened in surprise. "You can? How?"

"Juvia studied many kinds of magic when she was still in Phantom Lord. Juvia may be able to figure out what it says, she just needs a little bit of time."

Gray eyed her skeptically. "If we stay here any longer, someone else is bound to show up, you know? Anyway, Levy and Gajeel may already be claiming the prize right now."

"So, Gray-sama wants to give up without even finishing?" Juvia asked, disappointed. If nothing else, she did at least want to prove to Gray, and herself, and everyone that they worked well together. What would it say about their relationship if they came back to the guild admitting defeat? That maybe they weren't as good together as she thought they were? Juvia shook her head, trying to rid her brain of these negative thoughts.

Gray was looking at her, his brow furrowed, as if he was torn about what to do. Maybe he could see the disappointment in her face.

'Gray-sama is really very kind,' she thought affectionately, as she looked back at him. She took heart from what she thought was his care over her feelings.

Clenching her fists together, she said with renewed determination, "Juvia _will _figure it out, Gray-sama. Don't worry."

"Ok," he said, sounding unsure, but he didn't try to deter her this time.

Juvia stood in front of the pedestal, and ran her fingers over the writing once more, tracing each line carefully, as she tried to focus on the words she had learned years ago. She had encountered this type of writing once before, when she had taken down a small dark guild with the Element Four. Her memory had been much fresher then, and she had no trouble deciphering the words at that time.

Gray, left with nothing to do, went and sat on the floor of the cave, and leaned his back against the rough stone walls. He felt impatient and anxious. He wished they hand't run into Gajeel and Levy before getting here. Up until they had seen them, Gray and Juvia were feeling really good about themselves. They had retrieved the other three puzzle pieces with hardly any difficulty, and were making great time in Gray's opinion. Now, however, he just felt like they'd hit a dead end. He looked over to the right, where Juvia was pouring over the magic words, the firelight dancing around her. Gray admired her determination. 'She must really want that prize,' was all he could think of.

Bored, Gray started examining the other three puzzle pieces just for something to do. They weren't anything special. Just a few square, dark, wooden blocks with the Fairy Tail logo engraved into them. Once he got tired of looking at the puzzle pieces, he saw several small rocks nearby. Gray picked up one of the larger stones at his feet, and began trying to use it to hit the cluster of smaller ones a few feet away, like a primitive version of marbles. This continued on for several minutes.

Every time the rocks knocked against each other, a loud echo reverberated within the cave. Juvia jumped slightly every time this occurred, and caused her to lose her place in the alphabet she was trying to recall.

After several breaks in concentration, her teeth grinding in frustration, Juvia eventually burst out, "Gray, shut up! Juvia can't concentrate!"

Gray, his eyes wide, and his heart skipping a beat at the mention of his name, stopped playing with the rocks immediately, and turned to look at Juvia. Her face was red, her cheeks were puffed out, and her eyebrows were slanted in anger. To Gray's amusement, she looked both comical, and quite cute, even though she was clearly very mad. It had been a long time since Juvia had shown that emotion directed towards him.

She looked at him for a few moments as if daring him to pick up his rock game again. When he merely looked at her instead, she turned back around, still annoyed. As she went back to examining the symbols again, that's when it hit her. She suddenly realized what she had just done by yelling at her precious Gray-sama. Flushed with embarrassment and horror, she was at a loss as to what to do. The alphabet she had been trying to recall had suddenly flown right out of her head. She was about to turn back to him and apologize, when she heard him clear his throat. She turned to him worriedly.

Gray was smirking slightly. "Sorry about that, " he said, beating her to the apology.

"No! Juvia is sorry-" she rushed on, but he cut off her off with a wave of his hand, and a chuckle.

"Nah, you were right. That must have been really annoying."

Juvia didn't say anything to this. She still felt aghast at what she had done, and Gray's kindness and understanding made her feel even worse. She had snapped at him. But apparently, that wasn't what was occupying Gray's mind, because he went on.

"You called me Gray."

Juvia let this sink in. Remembering her words, she had in fact forgot to address Gray in her usual way. Another horrible infraction on her part. Her face flushed, she looked at him, but to her surprise, it didn't seem like this fact had bothered him at all. On the contrary, he had a cool, but pleasantly satisfied expression on his face.

"I liked that," he said simply. The smile he then gave her was one she had only seen directed at her a few times before, and each time, it had filled her stomach full of butterflies at the sight of it . And oh how she loved butterflies.

Completely entranced, and a bit confused by the moment that had just passed, all other thoughts had seemingly dispersed from her head, until Gray spoke again.

"So, did you figure it out?" he asked her.

This jogged her head back into focus. She jumped a little, and snapped her head back around to face the pedestal again.

"Oh! Nearly!" she said, completely flustered, and she got back to work, trying her best to ignore the beating wings within her.

Juvia did eventually break the code after a few more minutes. According to Juvia, the words read "strike as one."

At first they tried separate attacks at the same time. This didn't work. Then, realizing what they needed to do, they joined hands, and performed a combo attack. This did the trick. A secretly concealed block in the wall behind the pedestal shifted, and the puzzle piece lay inside. Juvia grabbed it. Apparently, this challenge was about team work, and trusting your partner. Those teams who had joined up randomly would have great trouble with this puzzle piece location. Luckily, Gray and Juvia were especially compatible magically, Juvia thought with a fierce pride and fondness.

Once they had succeeded in getting the piece, they rushed out of the cave, and back through the forest towards the town.

"Gray-sama, it has not been that long since we saw Levy-san and Gajeel-kun. Juvia thinks we might still have a chance," she said breathlessly, as they ran through the trees.

Gray running beside her didn't reply right away. When he did, his tone was strange. "Gray," was all he said at first.

"Huh?" Juvia was confused.

"Gray, remember? I like it when you call me just _Gray_."

"Oh!" she started. And so that's what she did. Blushing to the roots of her hair, she said, "Ok... Gray." Maybe to anyone else this wouldn't mean much at all, but to Juvia, this meant that they had grown closer somehow. And that Gray himself wanted them to be closer like this.

He smiled at her again, and she thought the butterflies within her might just carry her away.

They didn't end up winning the contest. They came in fourth behind Laxus and Freed, Levy and Gajeel, and Erza and Laki. Freed looked beside himself with happiness at the thought of a weekend away with Laxus. Juvia was really glad for them. Even though Gray and herself didn't win, she still felt like she had received a wonderful prize, because now, for her, he was finally just Gray.

**End**

_A/N: Just like with the first ficlet/chapter "Ambiguity," this too came from my discarded fic that I had started last summer. It had been way more involved than this (there was a fight scene planned for Juvia, and everything), but I decided to scrap that since it didn't fit the storyline anymore. Instead I just focused on the interaction between Gruvia. I really like the idea of Juvia getting mad at Gray, and calling him by his name, without the super respectful suffix. I do think he would like that, and take pleasure in her being more comfortable/casual around him (and it would kind of turn him on in a weird way haha). But, do I think she'd ever totally drop the "sama" within the actual manga? No. I think "Gray-sama" has become sort of an affectionate nickname for him at this point, and I don't think it's going anywhere. ^_^_


	4. First

**First**

Gray was standing outside the building of Lucy's apartment, looking down at the thin, white, square box in his hand. It was very plain, and the only thing that hinted at the special occasion it was meant for, was the small blue bow that sat on top. Gray sighed. Why was he here again? He thought back to a few days earlier, when Lucy and Erza had taken him aside in the guild.

"Gray, you do know what day is coming up, don't you?" Lucy asked, though she must not be sure he knew the answer, as her tone was a bit harsh, and her face seemed skeptical.

"Um… Tuesday? As it's Monday, and all, I mean," Gray replied.

Both of the women sighed.

"She didn't tell him?" Lucy looked at Erza worriedly.

"We only found out accidentally ourselves," Erza reasoned.

Gray was getting impatient now. "What the hell are you people talking about?"

"Juvia," they said in unison.

That was all Gray needed to hear. He began to walk away. He didn't get far, however, as Erza grabbed a hold of his shirt collar, and he spun around on the spot.

"We're going to have a small surprise party for her, because it's her birthday," Erza informed him.

"Yup! The day after tomorrow at my apartment."

"Ok…" Gray said, a sinking feeling settling into the pit of his stomach.

"And you're coming, too," Lucy added, confirming Gray's suspicion.

"Won't this be just a girls-only thing?" Gray questioned hopefully.

"No! Levy said Gajeel agreed to go, too, and Natsu and Happy will be there as well," Lucy said, looking sternly at Gray, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

He looked at the determined faces of the ladies before him, and knew it'd be no good to protest. Gray sighed. "Fine," he agreed, a bit resentfully. "I'll be there."

"Good!" Erza said approvingly, "now what will you get her?"

"Huh?"

"As a present. You have to bring her a present, of course." Erza stated, seeming surprised that she needed to explain this procedure to Gray.

"What for? There's no way Natsu or Gajeel are going to show up with gifts," he said, half-laughing.

"Never mind them, you're different," Lucy said, waving aside Gajeel and Natsu's lack of birthday etiquette.

"Why?!" Gray said, annoyed that he was being held to different standards.

"You know why," Erza said kindly, a smile on her face.

Gray felt heat spread across his own face, which quickly adopted a stubborn look. He said nothing.

Lucy tried to break the tension. "She's a good friend, isn't she? And she always makes an extra effort for you, right?"

Gray couldn't argue with this point, although he'd have liked to. He bit his tongue. It's not as if he wanted Juvia to make any kind of effort with him. If anything, he wished she'd just back off most of the time, because her "efforts" usually left him in compromising situations. Still, it was her birthday, and they were friends, and he knew if the situation was reversed she'd definitely give him a present. He sighed again, but this time resignedly.

The girls glowed with satisfaction.

"So? It's settled then? You'll get her something?" Lucy asked expectantly.

"Yeah," he replied, sounding slightly bitter.

"Good! My suggestion is a necklace, or maybe a bracelet," Erza listed off eagerly.

"Or earrings!" Lucy added enthusiastically. "Or a nice ring -"

"Stop!" Gray said, cutting them off. "I am not getting any jewelry, _especially_ **not **a ring. She'll twist that into something else, and the next thing you know, she'll think we're engaged."

"But-" they said simultaneously.

Gray held his hand up, cutting them off.

"Thanks for the advice, but I'm going to decide on my own what I'm going to give her."

Thankfully, they didn't put up any further arguments.

As Gray shopped for Juvia's present, however, he found himself wishing that he had asked for a few more ideas from the girls. It was a lot harder than he thought picking out an appropriate gift. As he shopped around, he tried to keep his own advice in mind. So, he steered clear of any items that Juvia might misunderstand. But, at the same time, he didn't just want to get her any old thing. As much as he hated to admit it, the truth was Erza had been right, Gray was different from Gajeel or Natsu when it came to Juvia. Gray knew this. And even more so, Juvia was different for him, too. Their relationship was complicated, and his feelings for her were likewise problematic. He felt like they varied depending on the circumstances. However, he came to settle on one main point. He wanted her to be happy, so whatever it was that he ended up getting her, he needed to make sure it would at least accomplish this task. After nearly five hours of shopping - the longest he had ever spent shopping for anyone or anything - he finally found something he hoped was suitable.

As he stood outside the apartment on the day of the party, present still in his hand, he could hear laughter and excited voices wafting down to him. He knew he was a bit late, but he didn't want to get there too early, so he had dawdled for a half hour. He hated to admit it to himself, but he was feeling kind of nervous, and he didn't want to think about why that was. So, rather than spend any more time with his thoughts, he finally made his way inside.

* * *

Juvia beamed around at the assembled guests at her first ever birthday party. She couldn't believe anyone would go to this trouble for her. It was a complete shock when she had been asked by Lucy to come back with her to her apartment, because she wanted some advice about a recipe. She'd never been to Lucy's apartment before, having no previous reason to enter the lair of her love rival. But, Lucy was also a friend, and she felt it would be rude to deny her when she was asking for help. However, as they headed inside the dark apartment, suddenly the lights turned on of their own accord, and many people were shouting birthday greetings at her. Several of the Fairy Tail female guild-members were there, including Cana, Lisanna, Erza, Wendy, Charla, Mirajane, and Levy. Even Natsu, Happy and Gajeel had shown up, although Juvia had a suspicion that Lucy and Levy were greatly behind their attendance. On a side table filled with food sat a lovely strawberry shortcake with "Happy Birthday Juvia" written in icing. Erza said she had ordered it the day before, and told her it was the baker's specialty that she had sampled many times, assuring her it was delicious.

There was just one person missing, and for Juvia, it was the most important person. Gray was nowhere to be seen. Her heart fell as she realized her favorite ice-make mage hadn't attended. She knew it was ungrateful to be sad, considering the kindness her friends were showing her, and all the effort they obviously went through by throwing her this party in the first place, but Juvia couldn't help it. Gray's absence weighed heavily on her heart.

She couldn't linger long on her worries, however, as she was soon led into one hug after another from her friends, and before she knew it, she was having a good time. Even grouchy Gajeel seemed to be having fun, taunting Natsu, who's face was stuffed with appetizers, and infuriating Lucy and Levy, by poking around in Lucy's clothing drawers. As Juvia and Lisanna sat laughing at the boy's antics, the door to Lucy's apartment opened.

Juvia's heart jumped into her throat. Gray, wearing a collared, short-sleeve button down khaki shirt, and black pants, walked into the room, carrying a white box in his hand.

"He came," Juvia said in barely above a whisper, her eyes shining brightly at the handsome mage, who, she noticed, had the top four buttons of his shirt undone, as if he had stopped himself mid-strip on his way there.

Lisanna, who was sitting right next to her, looked over at the newest arrival, and back at Juvia again, smiling.

Juvia wanted to rush over to Gray, but he was accosted almost immediately by Lucy and Erza, who seemed to be chastising him.

"What do they think they are doing to Gray?" Juvia said crossly, imagining that Lucy was trying to find a way to lure him into a compromising position now that he was in her home. She scowled.

Thankfully, however, Gray seemed immune to Lucy's charms that day. He managed to shake both ladies off, and to Juvia's delight, started heading in her direction. She sprung up immediately from her seat on Lucy's bed, and went to meet him.

"Hi," Gray said.

"Hello!" she said back, a little too enthusiastically.

"Um, ha-happy birthday," he stuttered awkwardly.

Juvia beamed at him. "Thank you, Gray! Juvia is so glad you came."

"Ah," was all Gray managed to say in reply, before Natsu started complaining loudly.

"So, is it time for cake yet?"

"Yes!" Erza agreed.

Juvia's conversation with Gray was put indefinitely on standstill, as the light's of the apartment dimmed. The group sang a rounding chorus of Happy Birthday to Juvia, as she blushed embarrassedly. The cake was then cut and served. Erza was right in saying is was good. Then it was time for present opening. Juvia was led to Lucy's armchair, where she sat opening presents. As she made her way through the gifts, which contained things like a hair ornament, a pair of fuzzy mittens, and a fancy sewing basket, Juvia couldn't help glancing every other minute in Gray's direction. He was sitting somewhat stiffly on one of Lucy's dining room chairs, the white box still clutched firmly in his hand.

While Juvia opened up Lucy's present, which turned out to be a beautiful and very soft, white scarf, she had lost track of Gray somehow. When she had started opening the gift, Gray was still sitting across the room from her. But, after she was done thanking Lucy for the thoughtful present, she had turned back to Gray, only to find he had vanished from view, and his chair was now occupied by Gajeel, helping himself to another piece of cake. Juvia was at a loss as to where he had gone.

Once all the gifts had been opened, people scattered once again, and music was turned on. Some of the girls began to dance, and Natsu started ungracefully spinning Lucy around, which led to protests from her, and caused the rest of the room to erupt into laughter.

That's when Juvia heard a weird hissing noise coming from her left.

"Pssst! Juvia! Hey! Over here."

Juvia looked around and saw Lucy's apartment door was ajar. She followed the voice into the hallway.

Gray was standing there, his hands behind his back.

"Gray," she said in surprise. "Juvia was wondering where you went. She was worried you'd left," she said, thoroughly relieved.

"No, I just didn't want to do this with everyone watching, that's all," he replied, his hands still behind his back. There was something uncharacteristically timid about his stance, Juvia thought.

"Oh," was all she could say, confused.

"He-here," he stuttered, biting his lip as he held out the white box with the blue bow to her.

"Thank you, Gray!" she said, smiling widely as she took it from him.

"Don't say thanks until you open it," and he sounded worried.

Juvia cocked her head at him, puzzled, before turning her attention to the box. It didn't take long to open, as there was no wrapping paper on it, just a few pieces of tape keeping it sealed. Within the box was some plain white tissue paper. Gray took the top of the box from her hands, so she could grasp the rest of it properly. She slowly pulled the paper away from the item it was concealing. Inside lay a large, stained glass panel featuring cherry blossoms on which sat several beautifully intricate, blue butterflies. Juvia didn't say anything, as she carefully removed it from the box to take a closer look at it. The light from the overhead lamp caused the colors of the glass to dance around them. She stared at it in awe.

Gray eyed her apprehensively. "I-it's a a sun catcher," he muttered, avoiding her gaze.

"Sun?" she questioned, that word in particular struck something within her.

"Yeah, you hang it on your window, and on a sunny day, the lights reflect into the room," Gray elaborated.

Juvia again fell silent. She looked from Gray to the sun-catcher, and back again, her eyes shining.

Gray cleared his throat, and went on. "It didn't cost a lot of money, or anything," he said hurriedly, "but… it made me think of you," he explained, a feint blush rising to his face, as he looked anywhere but at her.

Juvia stared at Gray's embarrassed face, and then at the sun-catcher. Her heart felt fit to burst. Something as beautiful as this, that was made for the sun, reminded Gray of Juvia, the former rain woman? Just this fact alone made her eyes swell with tears, never mind that he had bought her anything at all, and seemed so anxious about what she'd think of it.

She wanted to thank him, but she had already thanked him with words when he had first handed the box over. She now wanted to thank him in a different way. A rush of excitement ran through her as the idea struck. But could she do it? Surely, if it was just on the cheek, it would be ok? He still wasn't looking at her. His attention was focused in nearly the completely opposite direction, as he looked down the stairway instead. She had decided. Quick and painless.

She arched her head up, and inched as close as she could to him without him noticing. With her eyes she locked on target, which would be just to the left of his mouth, above his jaw. Juvia could hear a low voice coming out of Gray. He had started speaking again, but nothing else mattered right then to Juvia. She had her objective, and she needed to concentrate. She took a deep breath, pursed her lips, closed her eyes, and made her move.

"Look," Gray was saying, "if you don't like it, it's no big deal," he said in what he seemed to hope was an off-hand voice, as he turned back to her. "I can ju-"

Something was soft. And wet. 'Why would his cheek be wet?' Juvia wondered to herself, her eyes still firmly shut, and her heart beating wildly, as her lips had made contact with Gray's flesh. Did she dare look?

Gray's eyes and Gray's nose were so close to her own. 'That can't be right,' Juvia thought stupidly, as her head tried to catch up to her senses. Gray's wide, surprised eyes were staring into her own bemused ones. Gray's breath from his slightly open mouth, which she had caught midway through speech, on her lips. Juvia, slowly but surely started piecing it all together, and when she finally figured it out, she pulled away. She could feel the moisture from Gray's lips lingering on her own.

Nothing was said. They just stared at each other, seemingly at a loss at what had just occurred. However, Juvia's emotions were finally reentering the picture. She had just kissed Gray. REALLY kissed him. And his mouth was open. A thrill rushed through Juvia. Such a turn of events on top of all the other wonderful things that had already occurred that day was too much for her to handle. She was bubbling over, her body couldn't contain it all anymore. Before she knew it, she was wobbling in the hallway in liquid form, sliding down into a puddle of happiness.

"Oi!" Gray shouted in distress and anger. "Don't do stuff like that if you're going to melt!" he scolded her, his face a deep shade of red.

"Gray and Juvia's lips… Juvia is so happy!" Juvia said, her entire body drowning in ecstasy.

"You…" he started, though he sounded less angry now.

Before anything else could be said, however, they were both interrupted. Lucy's apartment door opened, and Lucy popped her head outside. "There you both are! We wanted to take some pictures…. Wh-what happened?!" Lucy asked, seemingly dismayed to find the birthday girl literally as a puddle on the ground.

"Uh," Gray began warily, scratching at the back of his head, but Juvia cut him off.

"Juvia was just happy about the wonderful gift Gray gave Juvia," she said, as she slowly collected herself, and reformed into her normal body. Lucy's presence seemed to have stirred some sense back into Juvia. She did her best to look as composed as possible, though her face had a significant pink tint to it nonetheless.

"Oh!" Lucy sounded impressed, as Juvia showed her the stained glass panel. "How nice," she said, giving Gray a discreet thumbs up behind Juvia's back. "Well, let's all go inside and get those pictures taken, ok? Then the memories will last forever," Lucy grinned, leading Juvia back into the party.

"But, Juvia will never forget this day, no matter what," she assured Lucy. "It's been the best day of Juvia's life." She gave a shy, but warm sideways glance in Gray's direction. There was something secretive about the smile on her face as she let Lucy steer her back into the apartment.

Little did Juvia know, once Gray was alone again, he leaned up against the apartment door in order to gather himself. He slowly and deliberately pressed his lips together as if trying to savor something. His mind seemed to wander, his eyes glazing over, before a throughly satisfied grin appeared on his own face.

**End**

_A/N:__I know this is in no way any kind of original idea, but this one turned out to be one of my favorites. ^^ Also, I thought long and hard about a gift for Juvia. I'm still not sure if it's a good one or not, but I hope it works. ^_^_


	5. Longing

**Longing**

It had happened a week ago, Gray recalled to himself, as he rested in the newly rebuilt (_again_) guild's bathhouse on his own one Saturday afternoon.

Juvia had joined Gray's regular team on a job, when they ran into some thieves from a dark guild who decided to ambush them in the forest they had been traversing. They all separated to go after them, as the crooks scattered. Juvia, of course, stuck close to Gray, but somehow along the way, they had lost track of each other. As Gray took down one of the thugs, he went searching for Juvia, but couldn't find her anywhere. He ended up rejoining the rest of his party, but Juvia and one of the thieves were still unaccounted for. An hour had passed as the group searched for them, Gray out of his mind with worry. When they finally managed to track them down, Juvia came bounding up to them, a smile on her face.

"Gray! Juvia got him," she had said proudly. Behind her, the dark guild member had been restrained by a tree root. From the look on his face, he had seemed dazed. "He was trying to attack you, so Juvia went after him. He was faster than Juvia thought, but she caught him in the end," she had explained, grinning broadly, as if she had expected praise.

Gray, however, was furious. "Why did you leave without saying anything?!" he had hollered at her.

Juvia's face had fallen on the spot. "Th-there wasn't time to-"

But Gray had cut her off in anger. "We were supposed to stick together. What if something had happened? Do you know what time it is? Do you know how long we've been looking for you? And you come bouncing over here out of nowhere like an idiot. You could have been dead for all we knew!"

He had been in a towering temper. He couldn't help himself. He raged at her for a good ten minutes. He couldn't even remember everything that he had shouted anymore, but he did vaguely recall several attempts from the other girls trying to calm him down. But, nothing they said made any impact. He knew he was saying a lot of things he'd come to regret. He knew he was letting his anger get the better of him. But, he continued on in that vein for ages. And Juvia just stood there, and took it, without interrupting.

When he finally had burned himself out, he glared at her, out of breath for a good long while. He did remember the look on her face. That still was clear in his mind, because he thought at the time that it was odd. After all the harsh things he had said to her, he expected her to be on the brink of tears at the very least. But no, she had a pained sort of expression. He remembered her staring hard into his eyes with that look, and it had unsettled him a bit. Then, the rest of the events that followed were as vivid to him as if they had just transpired a few minutes ago. Juvia had hugged him, tightly. He had been too taken aback to prevent her from this action. She held herself to him, her arms wrapped around his neck, and her side of her head up against his as she spoke to him.

"Juvia is sorry she worried you. Juvia is sorry she made you hurt so much. Juvia will make sure she stays close at Gray's side from now on. Juvia won't let Gray lose anyone ever again," she had said in barely above a whisper, as she embraced him.

Gray didn't know what to make of these words at first, but as they sunk in they hit him hard, and it was then when he had realized he had been shaking. Before he knew it, he was clutching her back, his fingers entwined in her hair, and his face nuzzled into her neck. His eyes firmly shut, he had held her so tightly, and for so long, because it felt right.

When he did eventually separate from her, the steady rise of heat to his face had made him thankful that darkness had fallen over the forest they were in. Juvia and Gray had said no more about what had passed between them. In fact, they had barely spoken at all the rest of that night after they took the thieves to the authorities, and set up camp. He did remember that Juvia had been talking to Erza, Lucy and Wendy about something, and everyone but Erza was blushing furiously. He had hoped that they weren't talking about him, but with Juvia involved, he knew that was all too likely.

Lost in thought, as the warm water hugged his skin, he wondered when Juvia had stopped being intimidated by him. He had said far less to her in the past, and yet she had been scared, and even hurt by his words back then. Now, however, it seemed no matter what he said to her, she not only was able to brush it off, but also had this knack for seeing through him. Had they truly grown that close? And had he become that transparent to her? This epiphany unnerved him.

He sighed, so deep in concentration over his new discovery, that he didn't hear the door to the bathhouse open and close. Nor did he hear the clothing baskets on the shelves rustling. It wasn't until he felt movement within the bath, the water parting as a new body entered, before he looked up. His eyes met with a nude Juvia climbing into the bath, a towel held high in her hand against her body, as it hung down, barely concealing the points of interest. Her face was red, but determined, as she sat at the other end of the large bath, right across from him.

They just stared at each other for several long moments. Gray felt as if his brain might have switched off, for every mayday signal that should have been sent to his body to respond to the situation at hand, seemed to have met an impasse. It wasn't until Juvia spoke, that the wheels in his head started functioning again.

"It-it's nice to take a bath in the afternoon, isn't it Gray?" the water mage said shyly, but casually, as if this was a perfectly normal event they regularly participated in together.

"What the HELL are you doing, Juvia?!" he said, grabbing a towel to his left, to cover himself as best as he could. All the times he had been naked, both purposely and accidentally in his life, and yet this was by far the only time he felt so hyper aware of his lack of clothing. He finally had the sense to also avert his eyes from the spectacle before him. He stared fixedly at the wall, his face burning, both with anger and embarrassment at what she was doing to him.

"Ju-Juvia is taking a bath," she said, trying to feign confidence in the situation.

"No shit," Gray said sarcastically. "And _why_ are you taking a bath now? Didn't you see my name on the board? Didn't you see that I was currently occupying the bath?" he asked her testily, still averting his gaze, although his eyes seemed to keep darting back to Juvia every few seconds without his consent.

"Yes, Juvia saw," she admitted without pretense. "Why shouldn't Juvia and Gray bathe together?" she asked a little hotly.

'Why is _she_ getting angry?' Gray thought in irritation. He bit back a cruel retort, however, and instead said, "uh, because, you're a girl, and I'm a guy?"

"So?" Juvia replied defensively.

"_So?_" Gray repeated, at a loss.

"Gray has bathed with other girls before. Erza-san told Juvia that you bathed with her, and Lucy and Wendy previously. Why is it ok for Gray to bathe with them, and not Juvia?" she asked, a definite edge to her voice as it rose higher.

"Oh God," he muttered under his breath. His mind wandered back to Juvia's flustered conversation with the girls that night in the forest. 'Damn Erza, what was she thinking telling Juvia about that?'

"Look, it's not what you think. That was different," he insisted, still trying to keep his eyes on the wall, but failing miserably at the task.

"How is it different to bathe with Lucy, or Erza-san, or Wendy, instead of Juvia? Is it that you prefer to see them naked, rather than me?" she said, and he could see from the corner of his eye that her face was even more flushed, and she was pouting indignantly.

Gray rolled his eyes, both at her, and the situation. Why was this happening to him? Why did he need to explain this? And there he was just moments ago, thinking she could see through him.

"It's _different_," he said carefully, "because it wasn't just me in there with them, there was also Natsu and Happy, and that old guy Walrod Cken. _Also_, Lucy, Erza and Wendy don't even really count as girls. I mean, we're all really close friends," he finished, hoping against hope that she'd be satisfied with this. However, as his eyes jumped back to her again, and he strained to keep them focused on her face, she clearly was utterly unconvinced.

"Juvia is not also a close friend of Gray's?" she huffed, sounding both angry and hurt.

Gray rolled his eyes again. "You _are_," he assured her, "but it's different with them," he repeated. He was struggling now.

She pressed him again. "Why?"

"Because, they're practically family!" he yelled, abandoning the attempts to look away from her in his irritation. "Everyone in Fairy Tail is like family."

"Everyone is…" Juvia trailed off, her voice lower now, but she still looked doubtful.

"I grew up with most of these people," Gray explained, scowling at her.

"So, Gray would be ok with bathing with the members of Fairy Tail, because they're family?" she prodded cautiously.

Gray made a sound of assent.

"But Juvia is also a member of Fairy Tail," she reasoned.

Gray growled in aggravation. "_Yes_," he said, his patience long since expired, "but you only recently joined. It's not like with Erza who used to force me and Natsu to bathe with her when we were kids. She's like a scary big sister."

"Cana-san and Mira-san?" Juvia asked.

Gray waved her off. "Same."

"Levy-san?"

"Little sister," Gray said flatly.

"Evergreen," Juvia continued on, as if trying to catch him at something.

Gray was unperturbed. "Scary aunt," he smirked.

She continued to rattle off female Fairy Tail member's names as Gray brushed them all off.

"Lisanna-san," she asked, her ire up again for some reason.

"Definitely little sister," he said, without blinking an eye.

Juvia sucked in a breath, as if bracing herself for something.

"Lucy?"

Gray hesitated. This was an important one. He knew it. He looked her straight in the eyes, and said, "little sister."

"But," Juvia began in protest, "Lucy is also new to Fairy Tail," she insisted.

"Yeah," Gray said calmly, "but we've been on the same team together for so long, that she and Wendy might as well be the same age. Anyway, I've seen her naked so many times, it's lost all effect," he added without thinking.

"What?!" Juvia gasped.

"Un-unintentionally!" Gray recovered quickly.

Juvia settled down, and seemed to go into a deep reverie at this.

Gray hoped that her silence meant she'd drop this topic now. As she sat wondering to herself, Gray couldn't help but let himself scan her figure, his eyes darting up to her face every so often, to make sure she was still deep in contemplation, and not watching what he was doing. His eyes were fixed on her breasts, their visibility increasing with every soft swaying motion of the towel in the water. He felt something harden, and looked firmly away once more.

"Gray," she said, and her voice was so low he could barely hear her.

"What?" he asked, a little angrier than he had intended.

"If even Lucy and Wendy are like sisters to Gray, then why isn't Juvia like a sister? What is Juvia to Gray?" she sounded both distressed and confused.

Gray didn't like this."You're a…," he said, struggling to come up with something, as the truth of the matter was a fact he did not want to admit, and least of all to Juvia.

Gray's eyes wandered back onto Juvia's. He thought they looked over-bright, as if she was about to cry. He couldn't have that. He swallowed uncomfortably, and plowed on against his better judgement.

"You're a woman," he said, his face was definitely fully flushed now, he could feel it. 'Damn her,' he cursed inwardly.

"A woman?" Juvia repeated dumbfounded. She stared from his stubborn face, and then her eyes wandered down his muscular torso, to the towel covering his lower region. His hand was clasped so firmly over the material in an obvious attempt to conceal the protruding figure beneath, that his knuckles were white. Her eyes met his again, as Juvia's face immediately surpassed several shades of pink, and went straight to maroon in her realization.

"Oh!" was all she said, her eyes darting back and forth self-consciously, and her grip on her own towel increasing.

There was a very long silence. Then Juvia spoke up again, and her voice was high once more.

"Ju-Juvia is getting out," she stuttered. "Do-don't look!" she squeaked, and Gray could hear water splashing, and feel the movement as she stepped out.

Without thinking, his eyes snuck a glance at her as her back was fully turned to him. They then snapped back towards the wall the second he sensed her head turning in his direction. He did his best to keep the grin from his face.

When Gray chanced to look again, Juvia was gone from view, and he could hear her bare feet tapping against the stone floor as she headed for the clothing baskets again. He breathed a deep sigh. That hadn't turned out as badly as he had thought it would, he reflected.

However, just as he was thinking this, he heard a door open again. At first he thought it was Juvia, and was surprised she had gotten dressed so quickly. But then he heard several deep voices, and some laughing, which was then met with a high-pitched scream, a loud splash, and many angry voices and shouts. Finally, a loud bang from a shutting door mingled with aggravated mutters. Gray could fathom what had occurred, but as the male Fairy Tail members, clothes soaked to the skin, came squishing their way into view, his suspicions were confirmed.

"What the hell was she doing in here?" Laxus asked, his clothes dripping, and a grimace on his face.

"Were you two perverts bathing together?" Gajeel asked, also wet and annoyed.

"She shot so much hot water at us, I thought my skin was going to blister," Max complained, looking at his arm as if checking for damage.

Gray didn't answer them, but felt a weird mixture of anger at what they may have seen, and grim satisfaction after what Juvia had just put him through. 'She brought it upon herself,' he thought, before his mind wandered back to her parting view. He smiled contentedly to himself.

**End**

_A/N: I was really torn with what to do for this one. I had a couple of ideas in mind for this, but ultimately settled on this racier one. Mostly because I really would like to see Juvia's reaction if she ever did find out Gray bathed with Lucy, Wendy and Erza lol! ^^_


	6. Heat

**Heat**

Gray and Juvia had been dating for a few weeks. Things were still a bit awkward. It was hard to break from old habits, and knowing that their relationship had evolved under the overly watchful eyes of their fellow guild members made it that much harder to relax. They were trying to keep their relationship as private as possible at the moment, but neither thought they were doing a great job of it. They knew that quite a few members suspected they might be together, but they had avoided answering any direct questions thus far. They didn't need that pressure, or the gossip that would accompany outing their relationship, and they were having a bit of fun sneaking around all things considered.

However, now that Gray finally had his own place, they had a sanctuary where they could be alone without worry. Juvia had even surprised him that day, with several homey touches to spruce up his kitchen and bath, including curtains, tablecloths, and embroidered towels with his initials on them, all hand sewn by her. She even cooked him a meal, that they had just finished enjoying. The day had been an unmitigated success, and only one thing could make it better. Catching Juvia's eyes across the kitchen table, where Juvia had started clearing up, he thought she must be feeling the same as him. They were alone together in his home, and there was a pleasant, and slightly expectant atmosphere circling them. He knew tonight was the night. He _wanted_ it to be the night. More badly than he could put into words.

As Juvia headed over to the sink to deposit the dirty dishes, Gray came up behind her.

"You're not going to wash those right now, are you?" he asked into her ear, his arms wrapping around her waist.

"Juvia wasn't planning on washing them at all. She was the one who cooked, after all."

Gray chuckled. He was so glad things had shifted to this state, where everything felt more equal between them. He quite liked this playful, and more confident Juvia.

She twisted in his arms so that they were now facing each other.

"So," he said, meeting her gaze, "the night's still young. What do you feel like doing?"

A blush rose to Juvia's face, and she smiled coyly at the question, as if she was wondering if she should say what had just crossed her mind.

"Juvia wasn't thinking of a what," she admitted, "she was thinking of a _who_."

Gray's heart rate quickened without his permission, and he could feel his lip twitching.

Juvia seemed to like his reaction as she leaned into him.

"How would you like to take off somebody else's clothes for a change, Gray?" she asked mischievously, her face so close to his, he could feel their warm breath from their slightly parted lips intermingling.

Gray's eyes widened, and then narrowed at this prospect, his feelings no longer the only things stirring with excitement. She was doing her best to tempt him, but he must not lose his control of the situation.

He considered her for only a moment, as she pressed up further against him.

Staying as collected as he could, he replied, "if you keep saying things like that, I might need to punish you." His voice was low, rumbling, intoxicating.

Juvia sucked in a breath at this pronouncement. She gazed up at him, her eyes alight, and her hands clutching at his shirt.

Gray could feel her nails digging into his shoulder blades through the thin material.

"You promise?" she asked breathlessly.

Then they both simultaneously broke into playful grins. This felt fun, invigorating, and right, Gray thought, before he lifted her off her feet, and slung her over his shoulder. Juvia let out a happy little noise as he carried her off into the bedroom for what was sure to be a very eventful night.

* * *

The female members of the guild had planned a girls-only night of gossip, food, and fun at the women's dorm, and specifically in Levy's room. Everyone, including the girls who lodged elsewhere were in attendance. A couple of hours of raucous laughter, boy-talk, perusing Levy's pervy book collection, and some food flinging had passed. It was nearing midnight before Juvia realized she wasn't likely to last much longer.

Trying to stifle a yawn for the umpteenth time, Juvia got up off her cushion on Levy's hardwood floor, where she had been falling asleep sitting up. The other girls at the get-together all stopped talking to look at her.

"Juvia is sorry, Levy-san, everyone, but she really ought to go to bed."

"No way, we're just getting started!" Cana insisted, slurring her words. She was clearly even drunker than usual.

"Yeah, it's rare we all get together for some girl chat like this" Lisanna agreed.

"But Juvia is so tired," Juvia said honestly, having gotten hardly any sleep the night before, though for wonderful reasons that made her heart flutter even now. However, she did feel a little guilty about leaving her friends.

"You've been acting strangely all night, Juvia, is something the matter?" Mira asked.

"I'd say she's been extremely happy," Erza added knowingly, a smile playing on her lips.

"Happy about what?" Levy asked, her head turning wonderingly towards Erza, before snapping back to Juvia.

Juvia hesitated before turning away from them in embarrassment. She could sense everyone staring at her, and she swore the heat from their combined gaze had sent the room's temperature skyrocketing. Before she had started falling asleep, she knew she had been wearing a silly grin. She had worn it all day, and it refused to be taken off, no matter how hard she tried to resist it. 'Should Juvia tell them?' she pondered to herself, blushing at the thought. They had decided to keep things a secret until they both felt ready. But, earlier that morning Gray had agreed that it wouldn't be so bad to let the cat out of the bag once and for all. They hadn't found an opportune moment all day, but now….

'This was it, then,' she thought. She decided to go for it.

She cleared her throat nervously, and turned back to the group of ladies, all of whom seemed to have fallen into an anticipative silence.

"Gray… was inside of Juvia's body," she said carefully.

There was a long pause as these words sank in. Wendy's face turned red as a beet, Levy's and Lisanna's eyes widened considerably, while huge grins popped up on many of the older ladies' faces. Then an eruption of noise thundered through the room. There were a lot of gasps, "whats?!" and "no ways!" until a hushing noise quelled the tirade. Lucy was the one making it, as she also waved her hand in the air, her expression amused, but relatively calm.

"It's not what you think," she said assuredly, shaking her head before addressing Juvia.

"So, you took him inside of your _water body _again?" Lucy asked pointedly, as the others around her rolled their eyes, or adopted looks of comprehension.

Juvia turned to the other women, her face serene.

"No," she said simply, before her lips twisted into the most triumphantly wicked smile. She walked out of the room, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.

**End**

_A/N: Only Juvia could break the news in this way haha! I'll tell you right now, this was not what Gray had in mind as the ideal way to let people know hee. Oh Juvia. ^-^ I can guarantee she was followed into her bedroom by the other ladies after this revelation, too, so they could press her for all the details, meaning there's no way she got the rest she desired. Also, I've always loved Juvia's "Gray-sama was inside of Juvia's body" line, so I was glad to be able to use it again in this way lol! By the way, sorry that I cut away from the good parts, but writing smut it not my forte (which is partly why this is so short). I can't do it without it reading in a very cheesy way, so trust me when I say, it's better like this. ^^; _

_One more prompt to go. ^^_


	7. Forever

**Forever**

Juvia felt light-headed. Her eyes were closed, and she was lying on something soft. The last thing she remembered, was a giant explosion, and Gray screaming her name. What had happened after that? Darkness was all she could recall, along with something cold. But the cold had come after. Minutes after, or had it been hours? Juvia wasn't sure. She opened her eyes, and they were slow to adjust to the faint glow coming from a hanging lantern within the tent. Was she back at the camp? Where was everyone else? She could hear talking, but it seemed distant. She looked around. There was a chair beside her cot. Who had been sitting there, and where had they gone? The covers were pulled over her, and she was all tucked in, except for her arms, which were only covered, although sparingly, with the torn material from her dress's sleeves. The bruises and abrasions that she was sporting earlier from the battles however, were no longer visible. It seemed Wendy had already been to see her. Juvia sighed, and sat up slowly, her head still slightly dizzy.

"Gray…" she said in a small voice to the empty tent around her. What had happened to him? Was he alright? A fear struck at her. Did he get caught up in the explosion, too? They had been fighting a large demon, when a huge blast from behind them took out the entire structure they had been fighting in. Bricks and rocks flew from every angle, and Juvia could remember something heavy hitting her. That had been when Gray had yelled.

She got up as quickly as she could, and exited the tent, paying no mind to her still torn clothes. Outside, the sun was setting, and she could see a mixture of wounded and recovering mages scattered around several make-shift tents, engrossed in anxious conversations. All the magic guilds from Fiore and nearby continents had gathered together for what was known as the Dragon King festival. They had joined forces to battle the remnants of Zeref's demons, and the dragons who had waged war against the humans. Juvia's head swiveled around, trying to spot a friendly face among the crowd. That's when she saw a high, pink ponytail to her left.

"Meredy!" she called, walking hurriedly over to her old friend, who, at the sight of Juvia, broke out in a relieved smile.

"Juvia! Are you alright?" she asked, rushing over to meet her.

Juvia nodded as another voice made her turn.

"Juvia, are you ok? You should be in bed. You need your rest," Lyon said, eyeing her in concern.

"I'm fine she assured him, before asking restlessly, "where's Gray? Is he hurt? Did he make it back? What happened to him?"

"Calm down," Meredy said, her hand on Juvia's shoulder, as she tried to steady her. "He's not hurt. He's the one who carried you back here. He was in your tent with you for hours," she said, placing particular emphasis on her last sentence, before adding, "you were in bad shape, you know?"

So, Gray was uninjured, and he had saved her. "Thank goodness, " she said, smiling warmly in relief. "Where is he, then?" she said, looking around once more, hoping to spot the spiky black hair of the man she loved.

"He left," Lyon informed her, a grim look on his face.

Juvia's eyes were wide, and her heart was pounding. "What?! Where did he go?"

"He, and the rest of Natsu's team went to Zeref's location," Meredy replied solemnly, looking down at Juvia's clenched hands, which she knew were shaking.

"We're all hoping this will be the final battle. The other demons and dragons have either been defeated, or fled. We think those that retreated might end up regrouping and launching another attack, so the rest of us are preparing to meet them head on if they try to interfere. We think if we can just deal with Zeref, though, this will all be over."

Juvia's head was spinning now. And Gray and the others had gone to meet up with Zeref? What if something horrible happens? She had seen Zeref's powers firsthand. She'd never encountered magic like it before. It stank of death. She shivered, and her eyes stung with tears. She blinked them back furiously. How could he have just left her like that? What if the worst happens? What if-

"Juvia?" Meredy interrupted Juvia's frantic thoughts.

She looked up at the pink-haired woman before her. Her eyes were fixed on Juvia's hand.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing downwards.

"Hmmm?" Juvia said, perplexed, and also looking down at her right hand. She lifted it up, and stared. There, on one of her fingers, sat a stunningly beautiful ring. Juvia hadn't even realized it was there. Where had it come from? When had it been put on her? She examined it. It was so clear in color, she could nearly see all the way through it's glass-like exterior.

"Is that a diamond?!" Meredy asked in amazement as Lyon eyed the ring too, a scowl on his face.

Juvia looked even more closely at the ring, the setting sun's light hitting the sharp edges of the large, and intricately carved figure that sat on top of the band.

Lyon grunted, "ice."

The two women looked up at him.

"Huh?" Meredy said, as Lyon chewed on the inside of his cheek in an irritated way.

"It's ice-make. Ice make, ring." he clarified, as the two girls looked on in wide-eyed surprise at him, and then at each other.

Meredy smiled widely at Juvia as realization hit the both of them.

Juvia's heart was soaring, as her eyes fell on the ring again. "Gray…" she said affectionately. So, that must have been the cold feeling she had recalled. He had made this for her while she had been asleep.

"Does this mean…" Meredy trailed off excitedly.

"It means," Juvia started, a tender look on her face as she gazed at the ring, "Gray will come back, no matter what. This is a promise that there's more to come," she concluded stoutly, her eyes brimming with tears.

Meredy smiled at her, and nodded in agreement, before a sudden look of doubt appeared on her face. "But… won't it melt?" she asked worriedly.

Lyon glowered at the ring again before replying. "Not necessarily."

"What do you mean?" Meredy asked, confused. But Juvia felt like she already knew the answer.

"You can encase many things in ice, including your will," he explained in some trepidation.

As a tear ran down her cheek, Juvia clutched her hand that bore the ice ring close to her chest, and said confidently, "this ring symbolizes Gray and Juvia's love. It'll never melt."

* * *

"Momma! He did it again! We had to run as fast as we could, because I couldn't find where he had thrown them," a seven year old girl said in an out-of-breath voice as a door slammed shut.

"I didn't mean to," said her twin brother defensively.

"You never mean to," said the girl in aggravation.

Juvia walked into the sitting room, and smiled down at the dark-haired, pig-tailed girl, who was pouting disapprovingly at the boy next to her, who was completely naked, except for his underwear, and a knitted black cap that sat on top of his blue-haired head.

"What did momma say about fighting in the town, Gwen?" Juvia asked her daughter knowingly, but without any heat.

Gwen adopted a sheepish look. "I know... but it would have all been ok if Luke hadn't stripped as usual," she said, shooting a sideway's glance of irritation at her brother.

Luke looked unfazed.

Juvia sighed, and studied Luke, her eyebrow raised in amusement. "How many shirts have you lost so far?" she asked calmly, crouching down to her children's level.

Luke didn't answer right away. He seemed in serious contemplation, before replying, "eight… or maybe eleven."

Gwen shook her head in disgust. "What I don't get, is how you always manage to keep your hat on the whole time."

"I like my hat," he said simply, as he crossed his arms over his bare chest.

Juvia cupped Gwen and Luke's faces affectionately in her hands, barely concealing a giggle as she was still quite amused. It amazed her daily how much they both could remind her so much of her husband. Although Gray always insisted that they were far more like her.

The twins looked at her in wide-eyed innocence, before Juvia stood up again, her stance now business-like.

"Well, mamma wants you both to go inside, and wash up. And make sure you get dressed, before you catch a cold," Juvia added, patting Luke on the shoulder as he ran past.

"A Fullbuster doesn't catch colds," Luke assured her, as the two children laughed. They ran around her, and into their bedroom.

Juvia smiled after them. Just as their feet disappeared beyond the door frame, the front door opened once more.

"Hey," Gray said, waltzing in, and placing a large, heavy satchel onto the couch.

"Welcome home, darling," Juvia said happily, her eyes beaming, as she greeted him with a kiss.

He returned the favor, pulling her close to him, his arm around her waist, the kiss deepening, as Juvia ran her fingers through his hair.

They broke apart slightly, so Gray could stare into his wife's eyes. "Now this is worth coming home to," he said, grinning.

Suddenly, a small rumble of bare feet running on the hardwood floor captured the couple's attention, and they both turned.

"Papa! Look what I did today!" Gwen's voice shouted excitedly, as the kids reentered the room at the sound of their father's arrival. Luke was still bare-chested.

Gwen ran up to her father, and held out her hand. In it was a blocky piece of ice in the shape of a heart. Her blue eye's looked up at him expectantly. Clearly, she had been dying to show him this.

Gray, gently separating himself from Juvia's embrace, smiled broadly and took it. "Now that's a fine piece of craftsmanship," he said fondly, stroking his stubbled chin in an appraising sort of way. "I'd expect nothing less from one of my apprentices," he added, before lifting her up and giving her a big kiss on the cheek. She giggled happily in his arms.

"Papa, watch this," Luke said, drawing his father's eye, as his entire body turned into water, and then slowly but surely solidified. It looked like he was made of crystal, but he was clearly covered entirely in ice. "I can hold this shape for a lot longer now," Luke said proudly, as he returned to his normal state.

"Great job, kid," Gray said encouragingly, still smiling, as he lifted his son up in his other hand. He examined Luke's appearance. "Now, here's a fun question, where's your shirt?"

Juvia replied in Luke's stead. "Strewn somewhere over an awning in the shopping district no doubt," and her accusing glare was focused on her husband.

"Oh," Gray said, a little guiltily.

"Your papa is very lucky Gwen wasn't the one who picked up this habit," Juvia added to the twins.

Gwen and Luke looked perplexed by the implication, but a look of terror flashed through Gray's eyes at the thought of what might have been.

"Yeah," he agreed, putting the kids down, and scratching his head embarrassedly. "That would have been a problem."

"Luke," Juvia said, turning to the kids. "I want you to finish getting dressed, and then, could you two please set the table? Dinner will be ready soon, and momma made chocolate ice cream for dessert," she directed as the kid's expressions became even more excited.

"Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream!" the twins chanted happily.

Gray and Juvia made their way into the bedroom, all the while chuckling at the twin's over-exuberance.

"So, how did the mission go?" Juvia asked once they were alone.

"Piece of cake," Gray said lazily, throwing his boots, pants, and shirt off with unconscious ease. He then turned back to Juvia, who was smiling fondly at him, and took her hand in his own. He looked down at the ice-cold ring pressing into his palm.

"You never wear the one I bought," he said, fingering it with a small frown on his face.

"Not true, Juvia wears it every day," she said, pulling out a thin chain from within the front of her dress. There was a white gold diamond ring dangling from it.

"Yeah, but I mean, on your _finger_," he clarified.

"But… Juvia likes this one more, because Gray made it especially for Juvia," she said, gazing at it and blushing.

Gray sighed, and eyed her sentimentally. "Doesn't your finger get frozen, though?" he asked her seriously.

Juvia raised an eyebrow at him, and a flirtatious grin spread over her face. "Now, how could Juvia be married to an ice mage all this time if she couldn't stand the cold, _Gray-sama_?" she purred, putting her arms around his neck.

Gray took note of his old nickname that Juvia only used nowadays when she was feeling particularly frisky.

Their noses touching, he grinned impishly back.

"You know just as well as I do that you melted me a_ long _time ago_,"_ he said as he pulled her into another kiss.

**THE END**

_A/N: *Phew* I made it! I have to admit, this was challenging, but in a good way. I've been wanting to write a story about Gray and Juvia's relationship progressing subtly for a while now. This turned out MUCH differently from my original plans thanks to the prompts, but they also helped me to fill in the blanks that I was struggling with in the first place. As you may have noticed, I didn't do a story/chapter about the actual moment that they get together. I feel like I've already done (and probably will continue to do in the future) several stories like that, that I wanted to use these prompts to focus on the before and after instead. ^^ _

_Anyway, if you stuck with me through all seven days and/or took the time to fav/leave a review, it's much appreciated! ^-^ So, thanks for reading, and I truly hope you enjoyed my contribution to Gruvia week. ^_^_


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